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| Wednesday, February 2 | |||||
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte Hornets guard David Wesley will be charged with misdemeanor racing and reckless driving in the Jan. 12 crash that killed his friend and teammate Bobby Phills, Mecklenburg County Assistant District Attorney Anne Tompkins confirmed Wednesday.
Wesley will be issued the citations after the Hornets return from a three-game road trip Saturday. A Class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by 60 days in jail, but it's unlikely Wesley would have to serve jail time. It will be up to the judge's discretion as to whether Wesley would be fined and legal experts say he probably will be ordered to perform community service. Tompkins, who heads the prosecutor office's misdemeanor prosecution team, reviewed the evidence with two felony prosecutors. All three decided Wesley should be charged with speed competition and reckless driving, she told The Charlotte Observer. Tompkins would not elaborate on the evidence, saying, "I'm not going to comment on the facts of the case." Speed competition, also called spur-of-the-moment racing, and reckless driving are each punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Motorists convicted of speed competition also can lose their licenses for up to a year. Police said Phills and Wesley were racing at more than 100 mph when Phills lost control of his Porsche and was killed. Phills spun out, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a car, according to a police report. The report said both Phills and Wesley were driving "in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner," and the men were "involved in a speed competition" before the collision.
Wesley was driving with a suspended license at the time. |